Noah Webster
Pungency
PUN'GENCY, noun [Latin pungens, pungo, to prick.]
1. The power of pricking or piercing; as the pungency of a substance.
2. That quality of a substance which produces the sensation of pricking, or affecting the taste like minute sharp points; sharpness; acridness.
3. Power to pierce the mind or excite keen reflections or remorse; as the pungency of a discourse.
4. Acrimoniousness; keenness; as the pungency of wit or of expressions.